David Tickner's Blog, page 4

Discombobulate

Have you ever been discombobulated? I’ve experienced this feeling from time to time but most of the time I am quite combobulate.
 
Discombobulate, from 1834, is a slang American English term similar to other fanciful mock-Latin terms created at that time; e.g., confusticae, absquatulate, spifflicate, and others. To be discombobulated is to be upset or embarrassed by something.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/

Holly and Ivy

Holly
The word holly, from the mid-15th century, has its origins in Proto-Indo-European (PIE) kel (to prick), Proto-Germanic hulin, Old English holegn and holen, and 12th century holin. Holly is an evergreen tree long used as part of Christmas and pre-Christmas decorations.
 
Ivy
Ivy comes from Old English ifig. Before this, the origins of the word ivy are unknown. In the mid-15th century, the image of an ivy bush was used on the signage of taverns which served wine, ivy being sacred to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and other things.
 
Holy & Ivy
In ancient times, holly was thought to be a male plant and ivy a female plant.
 
The ancient Romans used holly in different ways—to ornament the home as an omen of good fortune and immortality. Holly wreaths were sent to newlyweds for the same reason. And holly was used during the December Saturnalia festival. Early Christians, celebrating Christmas at this time, used holly as the spiky leaves symbolized Jesus’s crown of thrones and the red berries symbolized his blood. Harry Potter’s wand is made of holly, by the way.
 
Ivy, in addition to being associated with wine and intoxication as in the mythology of Bacchus and Dionysus, was also a symbol of fidelity and marriage. Ivy was wound into a crown, wreath, or garland as a symbol of prosperity and charity. As such, ivy was adopted by the early Christian church as a reminder to help the less fortunate.
 
The Christmas carol ‘The holly and the ivy’ is based upon such ancient beliefs which were absorbed by the Christian church. The carol sung today was first recorded by Cecil Sharp, a folk song collector, who heard it sung in England in 1909.
 
Scroll down the following link for a couple of versions of the song: https://mainlynorfolk.info/steeleye.span/songs/thehollyandtheivy.html
 
I like the pub version!
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2731

Yule

This year, the Yule or Yuletide, is from 21 December to 1 Jan. Yule is said to be one of the oldest traditional pre-Christian winter celebrations in Northern Europe.
 
The word Yule and the meaning and practices of Yule can be traced back to the traditions of ancient Indo-European peoples. For example, ancient Persian yaldag means yule day. Yalda is now the name for the Persian winter solstice festival.
 
Some sources suggest that when ancient Indo-Europeans migrated into what is now Scandinavia about 4,000 years ago, they displaced or became integrated with the original indigenous peoples. One theory suggests that one of the aboriginal words which was taken into the Indo-European languages was Yehwla, the name for the midwinter solstice.
 
Yehwla is thought to be the source of Old Norse jol which in turn is the source of Old English geol, geola (Christmas Day, Christmastide) and the English word Yule. Some sources suggest that Old Norse jol is also the source of Old French jolif which later became the word jolly (which originally meant festive).
 
So, there are many theories for the ancient origins of the word Yule—all interesting in themselves but none that are known for certain.
 
In Anglo-Saxon Christianity, the word Yule came to mean the twelve-day December feast of the Nativity. Does the song, “Twelve Days of Christmas” come to mind? By the 11th century, the word Christmas replaced Yule except for places in northeast English where the predominant Danish settlers continued to use the word Yule.
 
The word Yuletide is from the late 15th century. The first reference to a Yule log is from the 17th century. The word Yule referring to Christmas was revived in England in the 19th century.
 
Yule logs and yule log cakes? Traditionally, families would put one end of a very large log into the household fireplace and keep it burning during the 12 days of Christmas. As this tradition became increasingly impractical, families turned instead to the production of yule log cakes which I suspect most would agree is a much better (and tastier) idea.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule

Wassail

“Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green…”
 
This traditional Christmas carol became popular in the mid-19th century but is likely much older.
 
The word wassail has ancient origins in Proto-Indo-European (PIE) kailo (whole, uninjured, of good omen). PIE kailo is the source of words such as Old Norse heill (healthy), Old Norse helge (holy, sacred), and the Old English words hal (hale, whole) and haelan (to heal). The Old English word haelb (wholeness; a being whole, sound, or well) is the source of the English word health.
 
The word wassail appears in the mid-12th century from Old Norse ves heill (“Be healthy”, a salutation). Originally, this term may have been a drinking phrase.
 
Wassail, meaning a carousal or a reveling, is from around 1600. Wassailing, the custom of going caroling from house to house at Christmas time, is from 1742.
 
“Love and joy come to you,
and to you your wassail too!”
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/

Christmas trees

The word tree has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root deru (to be firm, solid, steadfast; particularly, in relation to wood, tree, and objects made of wood) and PIE drew-o (tree). PIE deru is also the source of the words true and truth.
 
From these PIE beginnings came Proto-Germanic trewam, the source of Old Frisian tre, Old Saxon trio, Old Norse tre, and Old English treo, treow (tree, particularly the oak tree; also, timber, wood, beam, log, stake), and Old English treowwyrhta (tree-wright).
 
‘Christmas’ trees have been part of winter festivals since before Christmas. Ancient people recognized and decorated the trees that stayed green during the winter. During the winter solstice Egyptians would celebrate with green palm rushes. During Saturnalia, the Roman celebration of the solstice, homes and temples were decorated with evergreen boughs. The Celts and Vikings celebrated with evergreen boughs, considered symbols of everlasting life.
 
The contemporary tradition of the Christmas tree is believed to have begun in 16th century Germany when people brought evergreen trees into their homes at Christmas and decorated them with candles. German settlers brought this Christmas tree tradition to the US in the mid-18th century. Other groups in the US at this time resisted the decorating of trees, considering it to be non-Christian. However, by the mid to late 19th century, the decorated Christmas tree gradually took root (so to speak) across the US and Britain, particularly given the influence of Queen Victoria and the annual Christmas tree decorating in her family home.  
 
A related reference:
 
“The Roman historian Tacitus (56 – 120 CE) wrote, ‘The Germans do not think it in keeping with the divine majesty to confine gods within walls or to portray them in the likeness of any human countenance. Their holy places are woods and groves, and they apply the names of their deities to that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence [the italics are mine: DT].
 
This ancient belief chimed with the argument of Protestant theologians such as Martin Bucer (1491 – 1551) that the trees of the forest offered a more faithful likeness of God than any carved or painted image.”
 
Walsham, Alexandra. (2011). The reformation of the landscape: Religion, identity, and memory in early modern Britain and Ireland. Oxford. Cited in Evans, Mark. (2020). Renaissance watercolours: From Durer to Van Dyck. London: V&A, 47.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/

Mistletoe

Well, here’s a bit of a surprise. The word mistletoe may be related to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root meigh (to urinate)! The origins of the word mistletoe are unknown; however, one suggestion is that the mistletoe plant is propagated through the droppings of the missel thrush or missel-bird. These droppings are called mih-stu- (urine), a Germanic term from PIE meigh.
 
The word mistletoe is first seen in the Proto-Germanic mikhstilaz (mistletoe) and Old English mistel (basil, mistletoe) and mistiltan (mistle twig). Mistletoe is a European plant which grows parasitically on certain trees.
 
Mistletoe was venerated by the Druids of ancient Britain. The white berries were considered symbols of male fertility (i.e., semen). The ancient Romans hung mistletoe over doorways as a symbol of peace, love, and understanding as well as for protection of the household. Mistletoe was part of the Roman Saturnalia celebrations. Christian Christmas celebrations continued this tradition. The custom of kissing under the Christmas mistletoe appears to have originated in the late 18th or early 19th centuries among the servants of English country houses.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
​

Prison or Penitentiary?

Prison
 
The word prison is from Old English prisoun (place of confinement or involuntary restraint, dungeon, jail) and Old French prisoun (captivity, imprisonment, prisoner, captive). These words have their origin in Latin prehensionem (a taking) and prehendere (to take) from prae- (before) + hendere (from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root ghend (to seize, take). The word prison is related to the 13th century English word prize one meaning of which is something taken by force.
 
Penitentiary
 
The word penitentiary is related to words such as penance, penitent, repent, and repentance.
 
The word penitentiary, from the early 15th century, referred to a place of punishment for offenses against the church. At that time, a penitentiary was a priest who was appointed to administer the sacrament of penance.
 
Penitence is a 13th century word meaning the expression of sorrow for committing sin or for having offended in some way as well as the expression of an intention for amending one’s life. The word penitence is from Latin paenitere (to cause or feel regret).
 
The word penitentiary meaning a house of correction or a prison in which convicts are confined for punishment and reformation is from 1806. The first ‘penitentiaries’ (not prisons) were for the rehabilitation of prostitutes. The use of ‘the pen’ as an abbreviation is from 1884.
 
In brief
 
Prisons are usually understood as places of punishment for wrongdoing, places in which ‘justice is seen to be done’. On the other hand, a penitentiary was originally a place for remorse for wrongdoing and for possible rehabilitation. Punishment is something done to a person whereas rehabilitation is related to a person taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
 
However, in current usage, both prison and penitentiary are commonly understood as places of punishment.
 
A prison has guards. In Canada, a penitentiary has Corrections Officers.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/penitentiaries-and-prisons

Carol

The English word carol (a joyful song; a kind of dance in a ring), first seen around 1300, is from Old French carole (a kind of dance in a ring accompanied by singers), a word of uncertain origin.
 
Some suggest that Old French carole may be from Latin choraula (to dance to a flute), Latin choraules (flute player), and Greek khoraules (a flute player who accompanies a choral dance). Greek khoraules = Greek khorus (chorus) + aulein (to play the flute). Greek aulos = a reed instrument.
 
To verb, to carol (to dance in a ring) is from the early 14th century. To carol, meaning to sing with joy or festivity, is from the late 14th century. To carol, or to go caroling, meaning to go around from place to place in a group singing Christmas carols is from 1879.
 
Carol, meaning a Christmas hymn of joy, is from around 1500.
 
The name Carol was originally a masculine proper name from Latin Carolus and from Germanic words meaning a man or husband. Carol, as a feminine name, is an abbreviation of Caroline. Carol, as a masculine name, was never popular in the US. Carol, as a feminine name, was common in the US after 1900 and between 1936 and 1950 was on the top ten list of names for girls.
 
Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/

Religere or Relegere?

Which of these Latin words is considered the primary origin of the word religion?
 
Relegere
 
Latin relegere means ‘to go through again’; in particular, to read or to think again. Latin re- (again) + legere (to read) = relegere. Legere is also the origin of the word lecture, from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) leg-(1) meaning to collect, to gather, to speak, to pick out words. Reading, in this sense, or preparing a lecture, is about picking out the right words.
 
Religere
 
Latin religare comprises Latin ligare (to bind; e.g., ligaments) + re- (again) = religare. Ligare has its origins in PIE leig (to tie, to bind).
 
Religare is also the source of the verb ‘to rely’ originally meaning to gather, assemble, put together, fasten, oblige). The modern meaning of ‘to rely’, meaning to depend on with full trust and confidence, to attach one’s faith to a person or thing, is from the 1570s. For example, “I know that I can rely on you to do this” or “She is a very reliable person.”
 
Religion
 
The Online Etymological Dictionary states, “[the word religion] is derived by Cicero [1st century BCE] from relegere … However, popular etymology among the later ancients [e.g. Augustine, 354 – 430 CE] and the interpretation of many modern writers connects it with religare (to bind fast) and the notion of [placing] an obligation on or the bond between humans and gods.”
 
The word religion first appears in English around 1200 as religioun (state of life bound by monastic vows; action or conduct indicating a belief in a divine power and a reverence for and desire to please it). Religioun is from 11th century Anglo-French religion (piety, devotion; religious community) and Latin religionem (respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods; conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation; fear of the gods; divine service, religious observance; a religion, a faith, a mode of worship, cult; sanctity, holiness). In 5th century Latin, the term religionem referred to the monastic life.
 
By around 1300, the English word religion referred to a particular system of faith in the worship of a divine being or beings. By the 1530s, the word religion referred to the sense of recognition of and allegiance in manner of life (perceived as justly due) to a higher, unseen power or powers.
-o-
 
In brief, these more recent uses of the term religion would seem to indicate that the word religion is more related to religare rather than to relegere; that is, a religion is something that binds you to the divine and to the others with whom you share the religion.
 
-o-
 
As I write, I am struck by the thought that the word religion, as used now in the English language, seems to denote religion as an independent entity, something that a person ‘has’, like a possession. Or, perhaps, speaking of ‘binding’, the religion ‘has’ you. This would seem to imply that a religion was something that you were something that you are born into, sort of like being born a Canadian.
 
In contrast, religion considered in terms of relegere would seem to imply that a person ‘picks out’ or creates the elements of their religion. In this sense, religion is the forms and actions which express how a person’s creative imagination responds to their spiritual perception. Religion is about choice rather than obedience (as implied by religere).
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/

Scissors

Why is scissors seemingly plural? If you have a pair of scissors, you have one tool (not two). Or, if you have a ‘pair’ of scissors, perhaps each blade is a scissor. Similarly, what about a pair of pants? Is each leg of this piece of clothing a ‘pant’? Hence, a pair of pants?
 
I think I’ll cut this discussion off and focus on the etymology.
 
The noun scissors (a pair of shears of medium or small size) is from the late 14th century from Old French cisoires (shears) and Latin cisoria (a cutting instrument), from Latin cisus (to cut), Latin excidere (to cut out), and Latin caedere (to cut). The original source of the word scissors is from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root kac-id- (to strike).
 
The spelling of the word scissors was highly uncertain before the 20th century. Early spellings included cisoures, cisours, sesours, and cisurs.
 
The Latin word scissor meant a tailor, a carver, or a cutter. A scissor was a person who used scissors.
 
The term ‘a pair of scissors’, from around 1400, meant one instrument or tool; perhaps meaning an instrument with a pair of cutting blades. At that time, the term ‘scissor’ was also used to refer to such an instrument or tool; for example, “Please bring me the scissor…” For whatever reasons, the terms ‘pair of scissors’ and ‘scissors’ are the terms that have endured as the name.
 
The verb ‘to scissor’ (to cut with scissors) is from the 1610s. The term “Oh scissors!” was a 19th century term of impatience or disgust.  The term ‘scissor kick’ in swimming is from 1902. The use of the verb ‘to scissor’ in wrestling, meaning a grip with the legs or ankles, is from 1904. The use of the word scissor in relation to a leg motion in rugby is from 1970.
 
What is a person called who makes scissors?
 
Scissors have been made and used for thousands of years. In the 19th century, the Wright family in Sheffield, England, began manufacturing scissors and established the Ernest Wright Company in 1902. A person making scissors for the Wright Company is known as a ‘putter-togetherer’ or a ‘master-putter-togetherer. Or, in short, a putter.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/